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This is a mainstream lens, not very special, a not overexciting image quality, just a normal performer. I think that Nikon will need to be doing something to stay in competition: more and more third party manufacturers are delivering a better quality at a lower price. If I was in their driver seat, nobody could beat the quality of my own range of lenses.

hunter

Registered: July 2013Posts: 2

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by hunter

Review Date: 7/21/2013

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $230.00| Rating: 10

This is a huge improvment in quality compared to the kit lenses ( 18-105mm etc). The AF speed good and decent, and it can be overdriven anytime- I found this more usefull feature - better than 1.8D. Sharpness is good wide open and excellent from 2.2 and up- the tested copy of 50mm G's on SLR gear site must be a lemon copy ( also at 2.2 has little less vignetting and bokeh fringing), contrast is very good wide open and it's not hazy(!) like in other primes wide open apertures. It' reneders good natural colours with neutrall feel in them perhapse little towards warm side and not very ''cold'' looking ( at least on my copy). A lot of people say that 50mm is uselles on dx- I don't agree on this I think this is tottaly fine focal lenght on dx !

you get all in one prime: excellent sharpness, contrast, af speed, very decent built, and I think is better value than 1.4G version. you can't loose on this and it will be hard to get more lens for this money!

photospots

Registered: October 2012Posts: 5

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by photospots

Review Date: 10/22/2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $250.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharpness, bokeh

Cons:

could have better build quality

Great lens that I consider to be the best 50mm Nikon lens that you can buy with almost as great picture quality as the 1.4g.

Like the AF-S 85mm f/1.8G, this AF-S 50mm f/1.8G is a nice surprise. And an affordable one too. Sharpness and contrast in the center are very good already at f/1.8 (really) and stopping down the whole image becomes nice and sharp at f/2.8. It's fun to have a lens which gives usable sharpness at f/1.8. None of the other AF 50mm lenses from Nikon are this sharp and contrasty at this aperture.

CA is well under control and I find the bokeh of this lens soft and unobtrusive. It looks like the bokeh of the f/1.4G model. Vignetting is very evident at f/1.8 to f/2.8, but in most cases this can be corrected simply by applying a lens correction profile in your editing software.

The f/1.8G focusses faster then the f/1.4G model (thankfully, because that is one very slow focussing lens). I've had no issues with accuracy so far. It doesn't seem to be any worse then the f/1.4G model anyway. It's reasonably silent. There's only a light whirring sound.

The build quality is very modern; lots of plastic, whimsy AF-S motors and no aperture ring. I wonder how long it will last. It does have an ass gasket to prevent dust and moisture getting into the camera and lens. The front and rear elements move in and out. The lens hood is simple and good.

This f/1.8G is both smaller and lighter then the f/1.4G version. It feels pleasantly light and compact on a full frame camera like the Nikon D800.

If you're in the market for a 50mm Nikon prime, I recommend this lens over the more expensive f/1.4G version. Optically this f/1.8G is as good or better, but it's smaller, lighter, cheaper and it focusses faster too.

d5100_Nikon

Registered: June 2012Posts: 3

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by d5100_Nikon

Review Date: 6/25/2012

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $216.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

lightweight, sharp, large aperture, great bokeh

Cons:

auto-focus not always accurate

Disclosure - I am not a professional. Ok, I do have an opinion though. This lens is awesome! It produces super sharp pictures with minimal effort.
I've tested it out at wide open and stopped down to 11 and was pleased with the results. It's really fast too!

My only little complaint is that it doesn't always auto-focus on what I want it to. I'll point it at something 5 feet away and press the shutter release button half way to let it focus and it shows me with red blinking lights what it's focusing on and if I do it again and again, not moving the camera at all, it will focus on different things each time.

Not sure if this is the lens or my camera d5100 (w/11 focus pts).

One more point, I didn't think I would need a filter to protect this lens since it is recessed, but I do because it will get dusty in there so buy yourself a 58mm filter to go with this lens.

I had to choose between this and the 35mm and I'm not sure I chose the right one. You have to stand back with a cropped sensor body so it's technically a 75mm lens, not 50mm. And the 35mm would be a 50mm on a cropped sensor body so although I'm super happy with this lens, I wish I'd have gotten the 35mm first. I'll be happy owning both though one day.

Gandalf

Registered: February 2008Posts: 8

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by Gandalf

Review Date: 10/25/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $260.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp from f. 2.8

Cons:

Some distortion

For the price I have to give it a 10-er.

It has also a very fine resistance against flare and ghosting - but you will get it if you press it with the sun, but at a lower "rate" than a lot of other lenses .

No lenses can compete in that area (flare/ghosting)with the" non flare/ghosting king" = The Nikon 28mm f/2.0 AI or AI-S (sorry, but it is manual).

It is sharper, than my 50 1.4 G from f. 2.8 to f. 5.6, from f. 8 they are equal.

Matthew Saville

Registered: December 2006Posts: 21

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by Matthew Saville

Review Date: 8/16/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $220.00| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp, built like the pro 50 1.4, accurate and consistent focus

Cons:

None

Unfortunately, in my opinion the copy of the lens used in the official SLRgear review must be a lemon copy, because mine is *INCREDIBLY* sharp even wide open. I don't know about charts and graphs, and I'm only shooting on a D700 not a D3X, but the bottom line for me is that this lens is WAY sharper than any other affordable 50mm lens on the market, except the new Nikon and Sigma 50 1.4's. This lens even beats the Canon 50 1.4, at f/1.8 and f/2, by a considerable margin. (With the multiple copies of the Canon 50 1.4 that I've tested, and the single copy of my Nikon 50 1.8 AFS-G.)

I've been shooting with this lens all summer at weddings, and I don't hesitate at all whatsoever to shoot this lens even wide open for even the most important portraits. Maybe I bump from f/1.8 to f/2 most of the time just to milk a bit more sharpness out, and it seems to flatten the plane of focus too. But by f/2 and especially f/2.8, this lens is just flawlessly sharp. I couldn't be happier.

Anyways, I didn't care much for 50mm in the past. I'm really a 35mm + 85mm kinda guy when it comes to primes. So I never felt like spending the extra money on the Nikon or Sigma f/1.4's, and the f/1.8 D is just not really a professional work tool in my opinion. It's not built as well as the 1.8 AFS-G, and autofocus is that crummy screw-drive focus that jitters if you like to use AF-C all the time.

I'm very impressed that this lens has very solid (albeit "super-plastic") construction, like the 50 1.4 and unlike the 1.8 D. It even has a weather sealing gasket, and comes with a hood. Totally worth the extra ~$100 compared to the f/1.8 D, and unless 50mm is your absolute FAVORITE focal length, this lens kinda makes the f/1.4 AFS-G seem like a slight waste of money.

In closing, I'm so pleased with this 50 1.8 AFS-G that I really, really hope Nikon also has a 85 1.8 AFS-G up their sleeve. I can only imagine how light, sharp, and snappy that lens will be!

RobCusto

Registered: June 2011Posts: 1

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by RobCusto

Review Date: 6/28/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: $219.00| Rating: 9

Pros:

fast, sharp, light, cheap

Cons:

no aperture ring, plastic, DOF scale not helpful, 58 mm filter size

This is an excellent standard fast lens. Comes with a hood and pouch. Autofocus is fast and quiet on my D200. Manual overrride is handy. Manual focusing is smooth. Image contrast and color is very good wide open. Sharpness is best at 5.6. Bokeh is much better compared to my old 50/2 Ai. Built quality is OK. Time will tell how durable it is. Has a 5 year warranty. If you don't need 1.4 you get this lens half price of the 50/1.4G. Nice walk around lens.

tdm

Registered: June 2011Posts: 1

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by tdm

Review Date: 6/25/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Pros:

Sharp, good colors and contrast

Cons:

Not found yet

I wasn't sure if I would take the 1.8D of 1.8G but since a few days I purchased the 1.8G because I already have a 50mm f/1.8 with aperture ring (MF) and I was reading good things about the smooth bokeh.

The same evening I had a party and I used the 1.8G in available light and wide open. I was impressed of the image quality and sharpness of this baby.

AF is fast, quiet and accurate.

The build quality feels okay and I think this looks kinda better on my D300s then the smaller 1.8D (I know, this shouldn't be a decision breaker).

I have the feeling this will be my favorite and most used lens.

scooby

Registered: June 2011Posts: 3

Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor review by scooby

Review Date: 6/18/2011

Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Total Spent: None indicated| Rating: 9

Pros:

sharp, nice bokeh, very good wide open, cheap and good value

Cons:

nothing really, umm dof scale is pretty useless

I only just purchased this lens, so haven't used it extensively, but first impressions are excellent. Better (and bigger ) than old AF D version, especially wide open. It's fairly large with hood attached but light as. Focus is quiet and accurate. Whether 75mm equivalent focal lenght on DX is useful is up to you. It has a rear dust seal but the inner tube at front moves during focusing so I will use a filter to seal out dust.I would rate this slightly better than both old AF D version and 35 1.8 G for DX cameras. A good lens to use wide open..bokehlicious! For the price,everyone should have one.